Tripunithura Viswanathan Gopalakrishnan (born 11 June 1932 in Tripunithura, Kerala), known as TVG, is a Carnatic and Hindustani musician from

Cochin, Kerala Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Ke ...

, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sangeetha Kalanidhi or Sangeeta Kalanidhi (Tamil: சங்கீத கலாநிதி, Sanskrit : संगीत-कला-निधि) (''sangeetha'' = music, ''kala'' = art, ''nidhi'' = treasure or ocean) is the title awarded yearly to ...

in 2014.

Early years

Gopalakrishnan was born on June 11, 1932 into a family of musicians with a history spanning over two centuries. His father, T.G. Viswanatha Bhagavathar, was a court musician for the

Cochin Royal Family The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...

and a professor of music at the S.K.V. College in

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

. Gopalakrishnan started playing the

mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is th ...

at the age of four and had his

arangetram Arangetram may refer to: * Arangetram (dance) Arangetram (in Tamil and in Malayalam, known as "Rangapravesha" in Kannada and "Rangapravesham" in Telugu) is the debut on-stage performance of a former student of Indian classical dance and mus ...

at the Cochin palace at the age of six. He is a disciple of

Chembai Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer (1 September 1896 – 16 October 1974) was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad (state of Kerala, India). Known by his village name ''Chembai'', or simply as ''Bhagavatar'', he was born to ...

Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. The violinist, T.V. Ramani and

ghatam The ghaṭam ( sa, घटं ''ghaṭaṁ'', kan, ಘಟ ''ghaṭah'', ta, கடம் ''ghatam'', te, ఘటం ''ghatam'', ml, ഘടം, ''ghatam'') is a percussion instrument used in various repertoires across India. It's a varian ...

exponent T.V. Vasan, are his siblings. T V Gopalakrishnan, nephew of

G N Balasubramaniam Gudalur Narayanaswamy Balasubramaniam (6 January 1910 – 1 May 1965), popularly known as GNB, was an Indian Carnatic singer. He innovated the art through emphasis on ''laya ''control and reducing the ''gamakas'' which eventually made Carnatic ...

, who runs the popular website sangeethapriya.org, devoted to Karnatik music, is a different person.

Career

He is a musician who is equally proficient in both Carnatic and Hindustani vocals, mridangam and violin. Hailed as an innovator of Indian jazz, TVG has toured all over the world with the legends like

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, John Handy,

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

Ustad Alla Rakha Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha, was an Indian tabla player who specialized in Hindustani classical music. He was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and wa ...

, etc. He has also collaborated with drummer/composer Franklin Kiermyer, Don Peake, Seigfried Kutterer and Carola Grey on many occasions. Gopalakrishnan was given the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1990. He has been awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in the year 2012. In 2018, he was awarded a doctorate by Bharatidasan University for his research on the topic "Layathwam in Carnatic music". He founded a non-profit organization called the Academy of Indian Music and Arts (AIMA) with the sole vision of creating opportunities for musicians across the strata of the society in 1984. AIMA is an integrated and unique

Gurukula A or ( sa, गुरुकुल, gurukul) is a type of education system in ancient India with ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru, in the same house. The guru-shishya tradition is a sacred one in Hinduism and possibly ...

system of specialized musical education with absolute focus on producing good professional singers and instrumentalists in various traditional disciplines, as also scholars and technicians. The art of performance and the art of teaching in music is imbibed to students of all ages and background in the unique TVG teaching method.

Discography

This is an incomplete list of releases. The release dates are also not always indicative of the original release date of the associated record. * ''Percussion Through the Ages in South India'' (instructional) (1961) * ''Melodious Strings of the Indian Violin'' (featuring

T. N. Krishnan Trippunithura Narayana Krishnan (6 October 19282 November 2020) was an Indian Carnatic music violinist. Along with Lalgudi Jayaraman and M. S. Gopalakrishnan he was considered part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic music. He was awarded the Ma ...

) (1991) * '' Eastern Beats'' (solo mridangam) (1995) * ''Meeting Sounds of T.V. Gopalakrishnan'' (featuring

M. S. Gopalakrishnan M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a.k.a. MSG, (10 June 1931 – 3 January 2013) was a violinist in the field of Carnatic music. He is commonly grouped with Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded ...

) (2005) * ''Maragadamani'' (2008)

Awards

In his career spanning over five decades, many honours and awards have been bestowed on Gopalakrishnan. These include: *

Award from Madras Music Academy , 2014 *

, 2012 *

* Sangita Laya Samrat * Rotary International Exemplary Citizen Award *

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government o ...

* Life Time Achievement award from Bangalore Ramaseva Mandali * Swati Tirunall Lifetime Achievement Award * Sapthagiri Sangeetha Vidwan Mani Award (Tirupathi) * Legend of India Life Achievement Award * "Arsha Kala Bhushanam" (H.H. Dayananda Saraswathi Life Time Achievement Award) * Lifetime National Achievement Sankaracharya Award (Bombay), etc. * Mudhra Award for excellence * Lifetime achievement award from Bharath Kalachar, etc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopalakrishnan, T V 1932 births Living people Male Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Hindustani singers Indian percussionists Mridangam players Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Singers from Kochi 20th-century Indian male classical singers 20th-century drummers 21st-century Indian male classical singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship